1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of making a shoe, more particularly, to a method of making a shoe in which a foamed insole blank is formed into a finished and patterned insole during the course of assembly of the insole blank and other shoe components, such as an upper and an outsole.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to produce shoes having insoles made of resilient foamed materials, such as EVA foams, which possesses good softness to provide comfortable feeling and which has good resiliency to absorb shock. Such insoles may be fabricated by forming a foamable EVA composition introduced into a mold, or by forming in a mold an insole blank cut from a preformed EVA casting. The insoles as formed are usually bonded to uppers and outsoles by gluing processes. In the manufacture of many sport shoes, foamed insoles are provided with relief-like patterns at the peripheries thereof before they are glued to uppers and outsoles.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,352 owned by the applicant of this application discloses a method of producing EVA insoles having ornamental peripheral borders. This method employs the steps of separately forming of an insole and a blank strip, forming the blank strip into a desired shape with an embossed pattern, and attaching the embossed strip to the periphery of the insole by adhesive bonding.
R.O.C. Patent No. 287091 to Jih et al discloses a method forming a foamed EVA insole, wherein an insole blank cut from a cast EVA sheet is foamed in a heated mold and formed into a finished insole which has an upwardly projecting peripheral flange for attachment of an ornamental strip by gluing. The presence of the peripheral flange on the insole facilitates attachment of the ornamental strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,877 to Yung et al discloses a process for manufacturing an EVA sole, wherein an unfoamed EVA blank sheet is placed in a first mold unit to form a foamed insole blank which in turn is placed in a heated second mold to form an embossed finished insole.
All of the processes disclosed in the aforesaid patents require the first step of forming an insole blank and the second step of embossing or ornamenting the insole blank to form a finished insole structure. These patents merely disclose or teach how an insole is made and patterned before attachment of the insole to other components of a shoe, such as an upper and an outsole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,824 to Barna et al suggests a process for manufacturing an arch support system for a shoe. The teachings therein are directed to the bonding of a foamed layer for a shoe component to other materially different layers of shoe components by applying heat and pressure in a mold. The process disclosed in this patent is related solely to a bonding method and is totally irrelevant to the patterning or embossing of a foamed layer.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,169 to Toyama et al discloses a bonding method which is independent from the pattern-forming of a shoe component. In the method disclosed therein, a shank comprising a fiber-reinforced resin sheet is placed on an insole element and is adhered thereto under heat and pressure.
While the prior art suggests many processes available for bonding and patterning shoe components, bonding and patterning of shoe components are usually carried out in separate operational steps which are laborious and time-consuming. It is desirable that bonding and patterning of shoe components can be performed simultaneously in order to facilitate and speed up the production of shoes.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified method of making a shoe having a foamed insole formed with ornamented peripheral patterns around the bottom of an upper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of making a shoe wherein ornamentation of an insole blank is carried out simultaneously with the bonding of the insole blank to an upper and/or an outsole.
According to the present invention, a method of making a shoe comprises: preparing an insole blank having top and bottom surfaces and a peripheral portion extending around the top and bottom surfaces; applying an adhesive to the top of an outsole; positioning the adhesive-applied outsole in a mold assembly which includes at least two opposite side mold parts having forming patterns for forming the peripheral portion of the insole blank; placing the insole blank in the mold assembly with the bottom surface being disposed adjacent the top of the outsole while the insole blank is being softened by heat to a plastic state; and pressing the insole blank in the plastic state against the outsole to bond the insole blank and the outsole, and pressing and patterning the peripheral portion of the insole blank via the side mold parts, wherein the bonding of the insole blank and the outsole, and the patterning of the peripheral portion of the insole blank are carried out simultaneously by closing the mold assembly.